Love Is Blind
by lyndsied
Summary: What if Paul Levesque really went after Stephanie for her money and to be at the top of the WWF, but then actually fell in love with her?
1. Chapter 1

It was always a fantasy to get with your boss's daughter, but for Paul, it was slowly becoming a reality. He was sitting in Vince's office, waiting for him to come in for a small meeting, "good morning Mr. Levesque," Vince threw a pile of books onto his desk, "you're here early, what gives?"

"Oh, nothing, just having a good day today I guess," Paul turned around when the door opened again, hoping it would be Stephanie, Vince's young and beautiful daughter. But instead, it was Shane, followed by Linda. He blew out a sigh and sat back in his chair, looking at Vince.

Shane sat beside Paul and nudged him in the ribs, "you seem disappointed, aren't you happy to see me? Or were you expecting someone else?" He looked up at his father to make sure he hadn't heard anything, "I haven't heard from my sister today, but yesterday she called my parents to say she was sick so she might not come in." Shane was one of Paul's best friends, and even though it was awkward that his friend was in love with his sister, he wasn't gonna be the one to stop anything.

"I'm gonna so get some coffee real quick, you want anything?" Paul stood up and stretched his arms, "Vince, Mrs. McMahon, would you guys like coffee or anything?"

Vince shook his head, so he looked to Linda, "could you get me a cup of coffee with just two packets of sugar? You don't even have to put them in for me, I can do it when you come back. Thank you Paul."

He nodded and walked towards the door, "Paul, can you get me a bottle of water actually?" Shane winked at him, "thanks buddy."

"Sure," as he started down the hallway, he heard a sneeze come from around the corner, "hey Stephanie, I heard you were sick, what are you doing here?"

"My parents told me to come in, sick or not. I wish I could still be in bed though," she reached into her purse and frowned, "what are you doing here so early? I usually make it before you."

"Your dad asked me the same thing, I guess I'm just having a good day," he bit his lip and watched as she dug in her purse, "well I'm on my way to get coffee for me and your mom, you need anything? Tea, soup, water, tissues?"

She smiled, "aw, you're so sweet, actually, tea sounds really nice right now. And if you could get me a bottle of water and some tissues, that would be great."

"No problem, I'll be right back with all that for you," the elevator opened right as he was about to push the button and his ex-girlfriend stepped out. He looked away, trying to ignore her, but she stopped in front of him.

"Hi Paul," she moved her hair over, uncovering her chest, "what are you doing here? You don't have to be here for another two hours."

"Joanie, I have a meeting with Mr. McMahon in ten minutes, I offered to get everyone coffee, I have to go," he got into the elevator, letting out an annoyed sigh when she followed, "what do you want?"

"How close are you trying to get to them?" She pushed the lobby button for him, "I'm surprised they haven't figured out why you've been hanging out with them."

"What's that supposed to mean Joanie?" He growled, "contrary to your beliefs, I'm not just hanging out with the McMahon's for their money. Shane is my friend, him and Vince really think that I could do better than being a jobber. I'm not after their money."

She rolled her eyes, "so what are you after? You want to be the main guy around here? The best in the business? You know that once you become McMahon's favorite, everyone's gonna hate you."

"I just want to be better, I've been working my ass off to get somewhere around here and if I have to hang out with certain people to get higher up on the ladder, then I will. I don't care what everyone else thinks about me," the elevator doors opened again and he couldn't have jumped out faster, "I have to go Joanie, I'll see you around," he paced towards the cafeteria.

"Is this whole thing about her?" She continued to follow him, knowing that the more she nagged, the more he talked, "when we were still dating, I remember hearing you, Shane and Shawn talking about Stephanie McMahon. Is this about her? Are you after her?"

He stood at the coffee machine, his back turned to her, his eyes closed, "why do you keep pestering me about this? I don't have to tell you anything anymore. I know you used to be able to nag at me and I would just spill it all, but I don't have to do that anymore. Just leave me alone," he grabbed a cardboard tray and put two coffees in it, then filled a cup with boiling water, "I know you're still standing behind me," he grabbed a packet of tea and two sugars, almost forgetting the waters.

"Wait a second, are you dating her?" She put her hand on his shoulder and forced him to turn around, "when did you ask her out?"

"Joanie, I'm not dating Stephanie McMahon, we both know that Vince would fire me as fast as he could. Now please, just leave me the hell alone. You're making me late to my meeting." He opened the small refrigerator and grabbed three waters, "goodbye Joanie. Talk to you later. Don't follow me again."

"Well I have to go back upstairs to the locker room," she watched as he balanced the tray and water bottles, "you know Vince won't let his kids date employees, right? He probably would fire you the minute he heard that you were trying to get to Stephanie."

"Will you just shut up already? What are you trying to tell me?" He remembered the tissues Stephanie asked for, "shit, where's a janitorial room? I need a box of tissues."

"There's one upstairs by the locker rooms, why do you need a box of tissues?" They went back in the elevator together.

He looked over at her and ignored the question. To him, the elevator couldn't go any slower, it seemed like an eternity just to go two floors up. The doors opened and he spotted one of the custodial crew down the hallway, coming out from his little room, "bye Joanie," he walked up the to the janitor and smiled, "hi, would you happen to have an extra box of tissues or a roll of toilet paper I could have?"

The man smiled and handed him an unopened box of tissues, "here you go sir."

"Thanks," Paul turned around and ran back to Vince's office, "alright, I hope I remembered everything," he gave Linda her coffee, and handed Vince a bottle of water, "just in case you wanted something," he looked at the couch behind him and noticed only the middle was empty, "the middle seat?"

Stephanie smiled, "I can sit there if you don't want to," he took the cup of hot tea from him, "you actually found tissues? Where'd you find a whole box of tissues?"

"You asked me for tissues, so I got you tissues. I got them from the janitor down the hallway," he took a drink of his coffee, "Shawn's not here yet?"

Shane shook his head, "he's not coming because his back hurts, its just gonna be us talking about the new storyline today," he sighed and put his forehead on Paul's shoulder, "he failed the drug test my dad gave him. I wouldn't mention Shawn's name again today," he whispered, once again so his dad couldn't hear him.

Paul cleared his throat and looked over at Stephanie, who nodded and gave him a half-smile, "the new storyline involves both you and me, so that's why I have to be here. Don't worry about 'you-know-who', he'll figure himself out sooner or later."

He nodded and thought about Shawn, he knew he had failed the drug test, and he knew why he failed. Shawn had been on a downwards spiral ever since he'd crushed two vertebrae in his lower back. After three surgeries, the pain had never gone away and he turned to prescription painkillers to cope.


	2. Chapter 2

Paul could hear Shawn yelling from down the hallway, he shut his eyes and listened as the yelling became louder, then the locker room door swung open, slamming the wall behind it, "you know everything don't you?" He yelled, throwing a plastic cup of soda, "I thought you were my friend Paul."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Paul stood up, his shirt soaked, dripping on the floor. He didn't know what else to say, he knew exactly what Shawn was talking about, but he knew if he admitted it, Shawn would blame him for ratting him out, which wasn't true.

"Vince is suspending me, because I failed his little drug test. He said someone tipped him off and said I was abusing my pills. Of course I'm gonna fail a drug test, I'll admit I've been taking painkillers, because I'm in pain, because I hurt my fucking back. It was you who told Vince, wasn't it?"

Paul tried to think of something to say, but instead he kept quiet and looked away, "Shawn, just calm down."

"Calm down? Fuck you, don't tell me to calm down," he walked over to the other side of the room and started to gather his belongings, "why'd you tell him?"

"Shawn, I didn't tell anyone, it wasn't me," all he could do was roll his eyes, knowing Shawn was on his pills right now.

Shawn zipped up his duffel bag and slowly came towards his friend, "Joanie told me you're trying to get in tight with the McMahons. She says you're trying to get in Miss Stephanie's pants," he reached out and pushed Paul up against the wall of metal lockers.

Paul grunted and lunged back, making him flinch, "just leave Shawn, nobody wants to deal with you while you're fucked up. It wasn't me who told on you, but I'm almost glad someone did."

"Whatever," Shawn once again slammed the door against the wall. He stormed down the hallway, upset that he'd fought with his best friend. He got to the elevator and saw Stephanie come out, "hi Steph," he smiled, covering up anguish.

"Hi Shawn," her eyes were bright and happy, "is Paul here yet? I wanted to talk to him about something."

He looked behind him, "he's in the locker room," he contemplated asking what she wanted to talk about.

"Okay, thanks, see you later Shawn," she practically skipped her way to the locker room, "hi Paul," she blushed, making herself look away when she saw he was shirtless, "is Shawn okay? I know why he's upset and all, but he looked more than just mad right now."

He shrugged, "Shawn and I just got into a little disagreement," he wouldn't tell her it got a little physical, even if it was just a shove into some lockers, "he's mad, he thinks I'm the one who tipped your dad off, which I didn't."

"I know you didn't, Joanie did," she rolled her eyes, "did he throw water at you? Why is your shirt all wet?" She pointed to the chair where Paul had laid his soaked T-shirt out, "didn't you tell him it wasn't you?"

"Yeah, but not until after he threw his soda at me. He did that the second he came in, he bashed through that door and just threw the cup. Then he started asking why I did it. But its obvious he'd just taken more of those pills, so he's not gonna listen to anyone right now. Whatever, I don't even want to hear what he has to say."

She bit her lip, "well I came in here to ask if you were busy, and if you aren't, I was gonna ask if you would like to eat lunch somewhere with me. I kinda don't want to go out alone."

He stood up and went through his bag for another shirt, "sure, I could use some food right now," he grabbed at his pockets to make sure he had his wallet and keys, "are you driving? Or do you want me to?"

"I don't have my car, so, you would need to drive," she giggled as he followed her out the door and down the hallway. They walked in silence, hoping nobody would come out and see them together.

He held up the remote and unlocked his Hummer, "where are we going?" He couldn't believe he was going to lunch with her, finally, if only he would have had the guts to just ask her before, she made it seem so easy.

"I was thinking like, a burger or something, or like McDonalds breakfast, I want greasy fast food," she felt so tiny in the Hummer, " you like to drive yourself to some of the shows in this huh?"

"I guess so, gas isn't so great, but if the shows are closer, I'd rather drive. I mean, I wouldn't go out and drive to Los Angeles or anything," he slowly drove around the parking lot, looking for the exit, "so, did your dad sent you out to eat lunch with me or something?"

"No," she smiled, "I thought that since we're starting this storyline together, we should hang out and get to know each other a little bit. But we probably shouldn't tell a whole lot of people this, they'll probably start assuming things."

"Completely understood. I won't say a thing," he looked over at her, she seemed uncomfortable, he knew she was afraid of what her father would think. He would never let her just 'hang out' with one of his employees, let alone date one, "you want McDonalds? We could go to McDonalds I guess," who was he kidding, he can't be eating at McDonalds, he was supposed to be on a strict diet, which mainly meant no red meat, or French fries.

"Won't McDonalds screw up your diet? I heard you and Shawn have a pretty strict diet that you guys follow word for word."

"Well yeah, but I don't think one trip to McDonalds would kill me," he tried not to stare at her, "what would your dad do if he knew we ate lunch together?"

"Grill me about what happened, even if nothing happens. He'd ask me where we went, what we ate, what I had to drink, how long I was out with you, all that. I really don't want to deal with it."

"How old are you?" He asked, "I mean, I know I shouldn't ask a woman's age, but I mean, you're like twenty-something, can't you just be like, leave me alone?"

She shrugged, "I never thought to, I always just felt like I should tell him everything."

"Oh," he parked in front of McDonalds, "one problem with driving a Hummer, can't fit in a drive-through," he shut the car off and waited, "I can't even tell you the last time I ate McDonalds."

"Do you want something else?" She had her hand on the door handle, "we could probably find somewhere healthier."

"Its fine," he got out and walked up to the front door, "just seeing this place is making me hungrier," they walked up to the front and he opened to door for her.

They came back to the car with two bags of food and drinks, "I don't really want to eat here, but we can't really go back to the arena, cause I don't know who's there and who could see us together."

He nodded and put the key in the ignition, "um, okay, so, where are we gonna go then? I really don't want to eat cold McDonalds."

"How about the Whole Foods parking lot? Its kinda closed and private, I guess." She pointed out directions to the grocery store, but fell silent once he parked.

Noticing she stopped talking, he quickly reached for the radio controls, settling on a slightly staticky rock station. She handed him his food, with a sudden uncomfortable look on her face. He didn't say anything to her, mainly because he didn't know what to say, which had always been a problem with him and his relationships.

They ate without saying a word to each other. The only sound was the radio breaking in and out of frequency every couple seconds, and the McDonalds bags crinkling in their hands. After their lunch was gone, he let out a loud, noticeable sigh and turned in his seat towards her, "what's wrong?"

She shook her head and stared out the window at the big raindrops that started to fall, "nothing, why do you think something's wrong?"

"Because the minute we parked here, you quit talking and now you're kinda acting weird a little bit," he leaned back on the door, "and I can tell by the look you have on your face, you're uneasy about something."

She hung her head, blushing, "its nothing," she almost started to giggle, "can you find something else on the radio? Static is annoying."

He turned the knob on the radio, trying to find something better, when suddenly she pushed his hand away and turned it off, "what are you doing?"

"We could listen to the rain, I love hearing the rain in a car," she moved in closer and put her hand on his arm.

He almost felt paralyzed. He didn't know what to do, she was close and only getting closer. The second she kissed him, her hands were behind his head, and his were on her sides, holding her. Before he could say anything, she had already climbed over the center console, straddling his legs

The rain started to come down harder, conveniently covering all the windows. She unbuckled his belt and ripped his shirt up and off of him. Everything seemed to be happening quickly. He smiled as he put his hands on her inner thighs, making her moan, "wait, that's my phone," she pushed his hands away and dug through her purse, "hello?"

"Stephanie, where are you? Why aren't you at the arena yet?" It was only Shane, "and another question, where's Paul, is he with you?"

Her breath caught in her throat, "well yeah, he's here with me, we just went out to McDonalds really quick, we're on our way back right now," she looked down at Paul, putting her hand down on his chest, "is dad upset?"

"No, he doesn't know anything yet. But you guys better get here in like ten minutes before he puts together that both of you aren't here. Even if you really did just go out for couple seconds for food, he's gonna blow it up into a whole other proportion. He's gonna think what I think."

"And just what are you thinking?" She put her hand on her hip, "Paul and I will be there in a couple minutes, don't worry Shane, you won't have to lie for anyone." Before she pulled the phone from her ear, she climbed back to the passengers seat and motioned for Paul to start the car.

It was like a dream, he had no idea what just happened. He put his shirt back on and turned the key in the ignition, still thinking about the situation they had just been in. He tried to listen to what Shane was talking about, but the volume on her phone was low enough to where he could hear that he was talking, but couldn't make out any words.

He put the car in reverse and quickly slammed the gas pedal. Stephanie pulled the phone away from her ear and pushed a few buttons, then, she started talking, "dad, I'm sorry I'm running late. I just went out for something to eat really fast."

Paul listened as she reasoned with her father. Did he really want to get involved with that? It seemed like everything she did, she had to answer to Vince. He worried that if he were to get himself 'involved' with Stephanie, he would have to live the rest of his life under a microscope too.


	3. Chapter 3

Paul walked through the airport with his laptop bag on his shoulder. He went up to the rental car kiosk and handed the clerk his driver's license and credit card, "hi, I'm Paul Levesque, I have a reservation on an SUV for the next three days."

He walked out the door towards the parking lot, the keys to his rental car in his hand. He pushed the unlock button a couple times, finally seeing the lights flash on a big black Chevrolet Suburban. He threw his three suitcases in the back and slowly stepped around to the front of the car.

As he pulled into the Staples Center parking lot, his phone started to ring, he quickly glanced at the screen and sighed, seeing it was Stephanie. He thought about answering it, but instead, just shoved back in his pocket. It was the first time he'd heard from her in the past two weeks, ever since she was all over him after he'd taken her to McDonalds.

After he parked in a stall, he stayed in the car to give him some time to think. He looked at his phone again, seeing she was calling him for a second time, "I really can't talk to you right now," he yelled to himself. Half of him wanted to go find Stephanie and finish what she started in the car that day, but the other half didn't want to even talk to her.

Stephanie burst into the women's locker room and looked around, "Maryse, I need to talk to you, alone, like now," she stood next to her friend, watching impatiently as she caked mascara on, "I have a personal issue going on right now Maryse, I need to talk to you."

"Okay, fine, just let me finish my makeup. I'm not about to walk out of this room with only one eye done up with my mascara," she glanced over, "what kind of personal issues are you having?"

Stephanie looked around, "man troubles. With someone I shouldn't have been with. Nothing happened though," she closed her eyes, thinking about what did happen, and what almost happened.

"What do you mean nothing happened?" Maryse took her outside, "who were you with Stephanie? Would I know him?"

"Okay, this happened two weeks ago," she blushed, "Paul Levesque and I went to McDonalds for lunch, and we didn't want to eat at the arena, so I had him park in a parking lot so we could eat somewhere private. After we ate, he started playing with the radio, and I turned into a whole different person. I reached over and turned the radio off, and I kissed him. And before I knew it, I was on top of him, straddling his legs. Maryse, I wasn't myself, I was on my period, I had so many emotions going through me all at once. I felt so slutty, and I haven't talked to him since. I tried to call him earlier but he won't answer his phone."

Maryse bit her lip, "okay, so, you guys haven't talked at all? What about the show tapings? Don't you guys talk then?"

"Well, we talk about that, but, he won't talk to me about anything else. He's being all quiet and weird now. I wish I wouldn't have asked him to lunch."

Maryse blushed as Paul came down the hallway, "he's right there," she turned around and went back into the locker room, leaving them in the hallway alone.

Stephanie closed her eyes for a second, "Paul, I think you and I need to talk," she pushed her hair back behind her ears, "I don't like this awkwardness between us."

"You're the one who made it awkward. In my car, remember?" He put his bag down and sighed.

"I know," she glanced around, searching her head for words, "Paul, I wish I knew what to say, I don't know if sorry is the right word. Can't we just start over and act like nothing happened?"

Before he could answer, they heard Vince's voice coming from the elevators down the hallway, "I have to go get dressed," he grabbed his bag and hurried towards the men's locker room.

"Paul," she ran after him, "forget my dad, I just want to talk to you," she grabbed his arm, "why are you still trying to ignore me?"

"I don't want to deal with your dad Stephanie. I think its better that we don't talk unless its about our storyline," he saw the sadness in her eyes, hating himself for having to say that.

She went to walk away, but he grabbed onto her arm, "what are you doing?" She tried to pull free but he was holding onto her too tight, "Paul, let go of me."

"Are you busy right now?" He asked, his eyes wandering around, looking for Vince, "come outside with me to my car, so I can talk to you without anyone else."

"What are you two doing? Paul, shouldn't you be getting ready for the show tonight?" Vince stared at them with a suspicious grin.

"We were just talking about the show, nothing else dad," Stephanie frowned and slowly walked away, "I'll see you during the show," she looked up to Vince, "I'm gonna be getting ready in the women's locker room." They walked away together, their backs to Paul.

He watched them, but he saw her slightly turn her head around towards him, so he held his hand up to his cheek as if he were holding a phone and whispered, "call me," hoping she would just turn around, forget about her father, and come back to him.

"What's wrong with you?" John Cena noticed his friend came in the locker room with a saddened expression on his face, "you okay Paul?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired," he lied, plastering on a fake smile. He sat on one of the benches and took out his phone. He sent Stephanie a text message telling her he wanted to see her in the parking lot. She quickly replied, making him jump up, "watch my stuff, I'll be right back." He raced down the hallway to the stairs, he wanted to make sure he got there first.


	4. Chapter 4

Paul sat in his car with the engine running, waiting for Stephanie to come out the doors in front of him. Once he saw her, he honked and drove up towards her, "how busy are you right now?"

She blushed, "not very busy right now I guess. You have a promo to do today though. I'd think you're pretty busy."

"I'm not worried about the promo. I don't even want to do that. What do you think would happen if I just didn't show up for the meeting before the show? How big of a fit do you think your dad would have if I wasn't there?"

"He'd probably call your phone until the battery dies. Or he'd send someone to track you down," she thought he was joking, but the look on his face said otherwise, "Paul, you're kidding right?"

He sighed and glanced over at her, "you're dad's starting to piss me off nowadays. He always asks for new ideas, but when I speak up, he never wants to listen to me. I have a feeling he's not happy with our storyline."

"He made up the storyline. Why wouldn't he be happy with it?" She crossed her arms, "why did you ask if I'm busy? Where are we going?"

He smiled, ignoring her, "if you aren't busy, I'm not busy either," he turned into the parking lot of his hotel, "you wanna come up to my hotel room with me?"

She suddenly felt uncomfortable, "what are we doing here? I kinda just thought we were gonna go eat somewhere," she almost felt as if she was being taken advantage of, she couldn't even think if anything to say.

"I meant like, sit in my hotel room and watch TV with me, and we could order room service for food," he turned the car off and leaned towards her, "what's wrong?"

"I'm hungry, and I have a little but of a headache," she smiled, looking up into his eyes, turning into the same woman she was a few weeks before, "but nothing a little food can't take care of," she moved in towards him and giggled as their lips almost touched, but he pulled back, leaving her confused.

He opened the door and jumped out, "the problem with this hotel parking lot, is that everyone else is staying here too, and if anyone saw us here together, they'd go straight to your dad and rat us out."

She got down out of the car and walked to the rear, where he was getting his bags out, "all you wanted was to have me sit in your hotel room with you and watch TV?"

"Is that what you want?" He closed the door and locked the car with the keypad in his hand, "that's kinda what I want, I've never been one who liked being by myself. I like talking."

She followed him to the front desk for his key, then up to his room. Part of her wanted him to just sit on the couch with her and go back to how they were in the car, but part of her was telling her that being alone with him was wrong. She sat in silence as she mentally beat herself up. Its not like she was always going out with the employees, this was only the second time. The first time, he was her boyfriend before he was an employee, but now, there was just something about Paul that she wanted. It was the fact that he was attracted to her just as much as she was attracted to him. In most of her previous relationships, it had never been like that.

"Stephanie?" Paul had the hotel phone to his ear and was frantically waving his hand around for her attention, "I'm getting food, what do you want?"

"Surprise me," she smiled, seeing him widen his eyes, trying to think, "I'm not picky or anything."

"Good," he turned away from her and closed his eyes, asking himself why he brought her here. He liked her, but he wasn't sure if he liked her enough to deal with everything that came with her. Her family, friends, the publicity, his coworkers thinking he was sleeping his way to the top. He knew that once Joanie found out, she'd go out and try to make it seem like he cheated on her, even if they'd been broken up for a couple months. He hung up the phone and quickly went towards the bathroom, "I'll be right back."

When he came back out, he was wearing a black T-shirt and sweats, "aw, why'd you get dressed?" She blushed, realizing what she'd said aloud, "I mean, don't you plan on going back to the arena tonight?"

He shook his head, "no, I'm not going back tonight, I'm so fed up with work, I wouldn't even care if your dad got mad and fired me."

"You wouldn't care?" She tossed her head back in laughter, "don't say you wouldn't care, I know you would go insane if you lost your job."

"At this point, Stephanie, I really wouldn't care. I hate going to work now. Your father ambushes me with ridiculous questions every single time he sees me and it pisses me off so much that I almost want him to fire me, just so I could get away from him," he sat down on the couch beside her, awkwardly, "I honestly don't know what to do anymore."

She leaned on his arm, "why don't you just quit? Just tell my dad you can't handle it anymore. Threaten him, tell him that if he doesn't leave you alone, you're gonna quit," she looked into his eyes, seeing how he felt, "this is really bothering you isn't it?"

"Yeah," he leaned down, holding his face in his hands.

"Is there anything that would help make you feel better about all this?" She squeezed his shoulders, moving closer towards him, bringing her lips to his neck. She wrapped her arms around his stomach, "anything at all?"

He smiled and faced her, "what are we doing Stephanie? We're both adults, why do we care what everyone else thinks about us? This isn't high school, its real life."

"Because we think about the long-term problems for us. We aren't just caught up in the moment like everyone else. We're thinking about our families, what our friends would think, how we would be looked at in the media, and more namely, my father."

"I don't care what everyone else thinks of me. I especially don't care what your father thinks of me," he slipped his arms around her, grinning as he leaned in to kiss the curve of her neck, "if you want me to stop, just say so," his fingers slid down to the small of her back.

She didn't want him to stop, she wanted him right on the hotel couch. This was going to be her way of rebelling. She'd dated and slept with employees before, but this time it was different. Her father really wanted to keep Paul away from her, and the more distant he wanted them, the more her lust for Paul grew.

He reached around her neck and slowly began to pull the zipper on her dress down. She slid her hands under his shirt, pushing it up and pulling their lips apart to lift his shirt over his head, "I want you so bad Stephanie," he whispered in her ear, "you have no idea," he tugged at the top of her dress, pulling it down so she could slip out of it.

"Be careful," she whimpered as he scooped her up, "don't run into anything with me," she felt relaxed as he laid her out on the bed, "I guess you shouldn't have ordered all that food."

"I didn't order anything, I wasn't hungry and I'm not good at surprising people. I figured if you were that hungry you would order something yourself," he smirked, "I could get us food if you're really hungry."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm not hungry for food right now," she bit her lip, watching the small turn in his lips become a full smile.


	5. Chapter 5

Paul gasped and sat up in the bed, someone was banging on the hotel door with all their might, "Stephanie," he put his hand on her arm and gently shook her, "I'm pretty sure your dad is banging on the door," he stood up and tip-toed around the room, going to the door to look out the peek-hole. Sure enough, he looked outside and Vince was standing there, his face redder than Paul had ever seen before.

"Paul Levesque, open this fucking door before I kick it down. You better explain why you weren't at the show tonight, I'm going to kick your ass!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, pounding on the door some more, "Paul, you fucking prick!"

"What's going on?" Stephanie whispered, "who's at the door?"

"Its your dad," he answered, putting his finger over his mouth, motioning for her to be quiet, "I don't know what to do. Do I open the door and make up some excuse as to why I didn't show up, or do I just stand here and see if he goes away?" He was frozen, his palms were sweaty, he wished he would have never put himself in this situation.

"Don't answer the door," she shook her head, "he can't prove you're in here, eventually he has to go away," she pulled him back to the bedroom, "he won't do anything to you, I promise, all we have to do is check out tonight around two in the morning and get another hotel room somewhere else. Don't worry, I've already thought this out a little bit because I knew this would happen."

He nodded, "alright, let's just go back to the bedroom and hide," he took a couple of steps, but stopped, "what if he goes downstairs and gets the key. He can do that if he wanted to."

"I'll hide, and you just lay in bed and sleep, maybe you got sick, hide yourself in the bathroom and say you're nauseous, stop worrying."

He couldn't understand how she kept so calm. Here he was, in a hotel room with his boss's daughter, having just slept with her, and now his boss was outside the door, threatening him, and she was as serene as can be, telling him how everything would be fine. Maybe he did need her more than he thought, she seemed to be able to talk to him and keep him relaxed, even at stressful times like this, "okay," he faked a smile.

"Come back in bed with me," she took his arm and pulled him, "just try to ignore him, he'll go away," she slipped her fingers under the elastic of his sweats, "let's just go back to bed," she flashed him a devilish grin.

He couldn't even think about sex right now. That was the last thing on his mind. How could she even think about sex while her father banged on the door? "He's gonna fire me, I know it," he sprawled out across the bed, leaving just a small corner for her to sit. The beating on the door stopped, "he must've realized I'm not answering the door."

They sat in silence, then Paul's cell phone started ringing. He grabbed it off the night stand and cleared his throat, "who is it?" She asked, hoping it wasn't her father again, "Paul?"

"Its your brother Shane," he sighed, "I can trust Shane, he won't say anything to anyone. Hello?"

"Paul, where the fuck are you? Why weren't you at the show tonight? My dad's running around everywhere looking for your head. And where's my sister?"

"Shane, I fell asleep in my hotel room. I didn't mean to, I came here to eat cause I had a headache, I laid down and next thing I knew, two hours later I woke up. And about your sister, she's…"

"She's with you right? Please tell me she's at the hotel with you, cause our dad just left and I want her to get back to her room before he comes back."

"I thought you were gonna be upset with me," Paul was taken aback, "yeah, she's here with me, she's the real reason I didn't make it to the show."

Shane nodded, "I kinda figured that, Stephanie told us she had to meet with someone before the show, but she never came back. Tell her to be ready in five minutes, I'll come knock on your door to get her back to her room. My dad never asked where she was, he'll never know."

"Okay, I'll tell her," without saying another word, he pulled the phone from his ear and hung up, "your brother wants you to go back to your room before your dad finds out you were with me. Nobody will find anything out."

"I thought you didn't care what my dad thinks about us, since we're both adults," she pulled her jeans up to her waist and slipped her shoes back on, "did Shane say where my dad went?"

"No, he just said he left, looking for me," he hung his head, staring at the floor, "I don't care what he thinks of me, but what about you? You wouldn't want him to be upset with you for something like this. I'll call you after I get this whole thing settled, maybe we'll be able to see each other again pretty soon."

She stood up, nodding, "I'll talk to you later then," she felt unwanted, after giving herself up to him it seemed like he was already done with her, "I'll text you, how about that?"

"Sure," he leaned down to kiss her one last time before she left, but instead caught her cheek, "what?"

"Nothing," she hung her head down and hugged him, "I'll talk to you when you call me," she pushed past him towards the door, "I'll text you when its safe though, I want to keep my phone clear for my dad."

"Yeah, I'll text you first if you want," he bit his lip, knowing something was wrong, but they didn't have time to talk about it, "bye," he flashed his best cheesy smile just as Shane knocked on the door.

She couldn't help but to laugh at the smile, she leaped up, giving him a single kiss on his lips, then opened the door, "bye," she whispered, turning to her brother, "hi Shane," she walked out of the room, blushing and giddy, "I'm sorry you have to deal with me like this. I honestly didn't know he wasn't going to the show."

"I'm not upset, you've covered me when I went out with Melina and Rosa," he sighed, "dad can't know anything about you and Paul, he'd fire Paul so fast and we need him, he's good for the business right now. Everyone loves Triple H and Shawn Michaels, and we already lost Shawn for a little while, we can't lose Paul."

"He said he would just say he wasn't feeling well. Shane, dad's gonna have to leave Paul alone or Paul's gonna end up quitting. He said he wouldn't care if dad fired him, he doesn't want to deal with dad anymore. Dad resents Paul for the storyline with me, even though dad made it up!"

"I'll talk to dad, you just tell Paul he can't quit, please tell him he can't quit," the elevator door opened and Linda stared out at them, "oh, mom, what are you doing here?"

"Your father sent me to see if Paul came back, his truck is downstairs, why are you two doing here? Your rooms aren't on this floor."

Stephanie put her hand in her hair, "Shane and I are looking for him too. He's not in his room, I don't know where he is."

Linda cleared her throat and stepped out, "I have a feeling he's hiding from your father, I'll bet he's in his room right now, maybe he's just in the shower or something."

Stephanie opened her mouth, but before she could make up any more excuses, one of the doors behind them opened and slammed shut, and the sound of keys jingling in someone's hand was the only sound heard, "oh God," she closed her eyes.

"There you are, Paul, we've been looking all over for you," Linda crossed her arms, "but I think my kids already knew you were here."

Paul stood in the middle of the hallway in shock, "Mrs. McMahon," he couldn't think of anything to say, "hi."

"Hi Paul," she let out a long, exasperated sigh, "what's going on? Why weren't you at the show tonight? And why are my kids leaving your floor?

"Mom, I think we should talk, its my fault, Shane just tried to help me before dad found out I was here," Stephanie glanced up at Paul, then Shane, "I was with Paul, we were here, in his hotel room. I don't know what else to say."

"Stephanie," Linda shook her head, "I knew there was something going on between you two. I just knew it," she grunted, "you'd better figure this all out before your father comes back."

"You aren't gonna tell dad right? If dad finds out about any of this, he'll fire Paul," Stephanie looked up at Shane.

"Yeah, and we can't afford to lose Paul now that Shawn's suspended. Our ratings will go down dramatically if we loose Triple H too," Shane sighed, "I know this is a pretty bad situation, but can we just keep this a little secret, just from dad?"

"I never said I was gonna tell anyone. Just make sure he doesn't find out, I don't want to be in the middle of this," she turned around and pushed the elevator button again, "you all better hope he's not trying to come back up here."

"If he's not, does anyone want to have dinner with me? I'm hungry and I have to get out of here for a little while. Are any of us busy tonight?"

"Well I'm supposed to meet Marissa for dinner in like, twenty minutes, but, I'm sure my sister is free," he snickered, "and probably my mom."

"Mrs. McMahon, can I buy you dinner? It's the least I can do for you for keeping this big secret for all of us."

"I would tell you guys just to go by yourselves, but if I go, we can tell Vince that I talked to you so he doesn't blow everything out of proportion. Not that he hasn't already," she smiled, "you two are crazy, I cannot begin to tell you how much trouble you would be in if your father found you first."

"I love you mom," Stephanie threw her arms around Linda, "I know we're crazy, but who doesn't get a little crazy when they like someone?"

"Alright, good point," Linda smiled, "I promise to keep this a secret, but if Vince finds out, I'm not saying anything, you'll be on your own, is that clear?"

Paul nodded, "that's fair," he led them out to the parking lot, fearful that Vince would be waiting by his car. The three of them waved as Shane went towards his own car, then carefully walked to the rented Suburban, "ladies first," he opened both the passenger door and the rear-door behind it.

The drive around town was quiet. It was too awkward for anyone to talk, no one seemed to want to break the silence. Paul stared out the windshield, trying to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. Stephanie continually glanced up at him, wanting to talk, but kept her mouth closed, just in case she said something too awkward for her mom.

"Don't all talk at once," Linda chimed in from the backseat, "how long has this little 'thing' been going on? Don't you talk to each other?"

"We talk," Stephanie waited for a response from him, "its kind of a surprise that someone knows. We weren't sure how long we were going to keep this a secret," she quickly thought of a subject-changer, "I meant to ask how the show went without us, was it a total bomb?"

Linda shook her head, "no, it wasn't that bad. We managed fairly well. It would have been better if you two had just showed up though."

Everything fell silent again, he parked in a Denny's parking lot, "I hope nobody minds it here, its 10 at night so not much else is open."

"This is fine," Linda climbed out of the car and shut the door, "Stephanie, can we go to the ladies room for a minute?"

Stephanie bit her lip, "yes mom," she knew that once they were behind closed doors, Linda would bombard her with questions, "Paul, we're gonna go to the ladies room real fast."

He saw their faces and knew why they wanted to be alone, "how about you guys get a table first, I need a cigarette," he turned back towards the truck, alone.

"I can't believe you right now," Linda shook her head, "of all people, Paul, the man your father almost can't stand."

"I don't understand why dad doesn't like him. I think this is all bullshit, dad all of a sudden doesn't trust Paul with the storyline he created. Dad made it up, dad wanted it to involve me and Paul, now, he can't stand Paul, who didn't even do anything wrong! Paul told me today that he wouldn't care if dad fired him because all dad does it treat him like shit, and he's tired of it."

"Your father learned how much of a womanizer Paul is, that's what happened," Linda sat down next to her daughter, "Stephanie, we just don't want you to get hurt, that's why we tell you and your brother not to date employees."

"Shane's allowed to be engaged to an employee, but I'm not even allowed to talk to one, I see how it is," Stephanie crossed her arms, "and about you not wanted me to get hurt, I'm 26, I need to learn these things on my own, relationships don't always work out, break-up's happen, divorces happen. I can't go on with you guys protecting me from everything. I'm not trying to be a baby about all this but come on, people should be able to have a relationship with somebody without their parents being completely involved."

Linda nodded, "okay, fine, I'll tell your father to back off," she smiled, "you know, I was the same way when I started dating. It was almost like my father was more a part of my dating life than I was."

Stephanie only smiled, knowing it wouldn't be that easy for her father, but it was a start. She stared out the window, waiting for Paul to come inside the restaurant.

"Shawn?" Paul held his phone to his ear, cigarette in his mouth, "dude, I need to talk to you. You know I didn't rat you out, that was all on Joanie, I wouldn't do that to you."

"I know," Shawn grumbled, "Stephanie called me and told me it wasn't you. Sorry for throwing that drink at you, I was just so upset, I didn't want to listen to anyone. I should've known it wasn't you."

"I slept with Stephanie," Paul wasted no time getting to the point, "and I completely regret it now, I fucked up."

"Wait, why are you regretting it?" Shawn sat up, trying to understand his friend, "wasn't that in your whole master plan?"

"Fuck, I didn't think I would end up so attached. I took her to my hotel room, and I skipped the show. I woke up to Vince pounding on my door, now he's out looking for me. I feel like he's gonna kill me or something. Shane helped Stephanie out of my room after he left, but then they ran into Linda and now she knows."

"Oh shit, she's not gonna rat you out to Vince right? She's cool, she hides everything from him because he overreacts."

"I'm at Denny's with Stephanie and Linda right now. Linda said she would talk to Vince for me, I'm just supposed to say I wasn't feeling well, so I left but forgot to tell him. I can't believe I skipped the show, I told Stephanie I didn't care, but I didn't think I'd fall asleep and actually miss it."

Shawn cleared his throat, "you know that once Vince sees you, he's gonna try and knock your teeth out right? He can't stand when one of us misses a show."

"Yeah, I know," Paul sighed and leaned against the Suburban, "I just wish this shit wasn't so hard, I mean, I've barely just slept with her once. What's gonna happen if I actually marry her?" The word 'marriage' stuck in his head, "I can't believe this was my plan, I'll talk to you later tonight Shawn." He hung the phone up and exhaled once again, his plan was going to be harder than he thought.


End file.
